Celtics and Lakers face long climbs back to top of NBA

Four years after playing for the championship for the second time in three seasons, the Celtics and the Lakers missed the 2014 playoffs and are in need of plenty of help.

Jim Fenton The Enterprise @JFenton_ent

They turned back the clock in 2008 and 2010, getting together in the NBA Finals just like old times.The Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, owners of 33 of the league’s championships, ended a drought that dated back to 1987 when they again squared off for the title six years ago.

A new chapter was added to a rivalry with more championship showdowns, just like it was in the 1960s and the 1980s.

It was a great trip down memory lane as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen led the Celtics to the 2008 title while Kobe Bryant and Co. rallied in Game 7 for the 2010 crown.

Now, just four short years after going down to the wire in the finals, the Celtics and the Lakers both find themselves far from elite status in the NBA.

For only the second time in league history, the Celtics and the Lakers missed the playoffs in the same year in the 2013-14 season. The only other time it happened was the 1993-94 season.

And given the way the summer is shaping up, the Celtics and the Lakers are going to struggle to find their way back to the postseason next spring.

The two teams are in rebuilding modes and they have not exactly gone through major overhauls this offseason.

The Celtics finished tied for the fifth-worst record in the league last season, going 25-57, while the Lakers were seventh at 27-55.

That earned the two teams trips to the draft lottery where the Celtics wound up with Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart at No. 6 (plus Kentucky’s James Young later at No. 17) while the Lakers took Kentucky forward Julius Randle at No. 7 (in addition to trading for guard Jeremy Lin of Harvard last week).

Those have been the marquee additions thus far for the Celtics and the Lakers halfway through the first month of free agency.

The Celtics tried to get Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves to work alongside Rajon Rondo, but that didn’t work out. The only trade they made was a three-way deal in which the Celtics got center Tyler Zeller and a first-round pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers and guard Marcus Thornton from the Brooklyn Nets.

The Lakers had free-agent forward Carmelo Anthony visit the West Coast in a bid to pair him with Bryant, but no match could be made and Anthony returned to the New York Knicks.

All of that leaves the Celtics and the Lakers trying to find other pieces to improve themselves.

The Celtics might have to bank on a stockpile of first-round picks between now and 2018 to get going in the right direction.

The Lakers, who missed the playoffs for only the sixth time, have just eight players lined up for the 2014-15 season and still don’t have a coach after the resignation of Mike D’Antoni on April 30.

It has been reported that former Lakers guard Byron Scott is likely going to get the job.

Bryant, who played just six games last season due to injury, turns 36 in August and has a lot of miles on his body. He will make $23.5 million this season and $25 million in 2015-16.

The LA roster right now also includes Lin, Kendall Marshall, aging Steve Kerr, Randle and center Robert Sacre. Free agents Nick Young, who averaged nearly 18 points, and Jordan Hill have agreed to contracts with the Lakers, but the deals haven’t been formally announced.

The Lakers lost Pau Gasol, who took a pay cut, to the Chicago Bulls, center Chris Kaman to the Portland Trail Blazers and Jodie Meeks to the Detroit Pistons.

Times have certainly changed in four short years for both the Celtics and the Lakers, who have long climbs back to the elite level of the NBA.

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.